Unidentified Assailant
by Triangulum
Summary: Ziva, are you ok? Well...you're bleeding all over your clothes..." "Damn it." Ziva is targeted by a bold attacker. Tiva.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So this is my first NCIS fic. I dabble around in other shows, so we'll see how this goes. R and R please.**

"I'm looking for officer David."

"That way," a helpful young agent pointed the man in the right directions. He didn't notice that the man wasn't wearing a visitor's badge or identification card of any kind. He didn't see him pull a gun from behind his back.

"Ziva! Down!" Ziva looked up from standing next to McGee's desk only to see Tony a split second before he crashed into her. They slammed to the floor as the gunshots started. Screams erupted from all around them and they could hear other agents scrambling to help. Ziva and Tony scrambled around the cubicle wall just as bullets pelted exactly where their heads had been a second earlier.

Ziva pulled her gun from her waist and peeked around the wall. She let off a few shots before yanking her head back.

"Tony! Where is your gun?" she yelled over the bullets and chaos.

"I dropped it!" Tony yelled back.

"Why did you do that?" Ziva yelled.

"Well I'm sorry, I was sorta busy saving your life!"

Ziva rolled her eyes and reached around the wall again. The tall man brandished his gun in their direction but before he could shoot again, Ziva shot him twice in the chest. He fell to his knees, gurgling blood. Ziva and Tony ran to him, Tony picking up his gun on the way and checking around for more assailants. Ziva crouched next to the man while Tony stood slightly higher, scanning for danger. Most of the personnel had evacuated, and since it was a weekend there weren't as many agents around as normal.

"Who are you?" Ziva asked. The man just moaned. Ziva punched on of the holes on the left of his chest. He yelped.

"Not…me…" he managed to get out.

"Who then? Who sent you!" Ziva yelled. His eyes fluttered closed as he stopped breathing. Ziva sat back on her heels, disgusted, then looked up at Tony. McGee's head popped up from under his desk, where he had been when the commotion started Gibbs came charging in with at least ten others, all with guns raised.

"DiNozzo! What happened!?" Gibbs yelled.

"This guy came in, gun blazing, aiming for Ziva," Tony said.

"Who was he?"

"Don't know, Boss," Tony answered.

"Why does he want David dead?"

"Don't know that either, Boss."

"Well get on that DiNozzo. McGee! Call Ducky, tell him we got a body for him," Gibbs ordered. Ziva rifled through the dead man's pockets.

"No ID," she announced.

"Figures," Gibbs said. "Ziva, write down the names of anyone who has anything against you."

"That is going to be a pretty long list, Gibbs," Ziva said.

"Do it anyways!"

Ducky walked in. "Is anyone hurt?" he asked immediately.

"No Ducky, just our visitor here," Gibbs said, motioning to the dead man.

"Oh thank god," Ducky sighed. "Well I'll get your results as soon as I can."

"Ziva…" Tony said slowly. "Are you ok?"

"Yes," Ziva said. "Why?"

"Well you're bleeding all over your clothes," Tony said. He pulled his jacket off and pressed it against her bleeding shoulder. Ziva looked down and saw the blood and the pain hit her.

"Damn it," Ziva muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ducky, really, I am fine," Ziva said for what felt like the hundredth time. Ducky had been fretting over her arm for the past 40 minutes.

"You are very lucky today, Officer David," Ducky said, finishing the bandages around her bicep. "This could have been a lot worse. It's a graze really…well a bit more than a graze. There should be no permanent muscle damage, the bullet just took a good sized chunk out of your arm."

"You know Ducky, I can see that," Ziva answered.

"How did you not _feel_ that?" Tony asked from behind her, making a face. Gibbs and Tony had been standing behind the autopsy table Ducky had had Ziva on for the past 40 minutes. Ziva shrugged with her non injured arm.

"Adrenaline, I guess. I was too busy trying to keep us alive to pay attention to anything else," Ziva answered.

"Ah, adrenaline," Ducky said. "Did you know that an 85 year old woman picked up a mustang last year in order to get it off her little terrier?"

"I bet the mustang did not appreciate that," Ziva said.

"Well I don't think it cared much either was Ziva, considering it doesn't feel anything," Tony said.

"Well if I were a horse and someone picked me up, I am sure I would not appreciate it," Ziva answered.

"Ziva…a mustang is a car…a nice, fast car," Tony said grinning. "You should know, you seem like that kind of maniacal driver who would own one."

"Trust me Tony, a mustang is definitely a horse."

"Yes…that the car was named after," Tony said, making a face that clearly said 'HA!'

"If you two are done," Gibbs said from next to Tony, "maybe you could actually do something productive. Ziva, start on that grudge list. Tony, go see Abby, see if she has anything."

"Right Boss," Tony said as he and Ziva moved to the door.

"And find out where McGee went!" Gibbs yelled after them.

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Ziva sat at the borrowed desk, typing, not used to her new surroundings. She was relocated to a new desk while their cubicle was still considered a crime scene. Tony walked in a plunked down in the seat next to hers.

"Did Abby find anything?" Ziva asked.

"She's running his finger prints, no ID so far," he answered. Ziva nodded and hit the print button.

"Did you find McGee?" she asked. Tony frowned.

"No, not yet. I wasn't really looking either though…"

"Well," Ziva said, grabbing what she had just printed. "I have to bring this to Gibbs, then we can find McGee."

"This is your grudge list?" Tony asked, grabbing the papers from her hands and leafing through them.

"Yes," Ziva answered.

"It's 11 pages long!"

"Yes."

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"Here Gibbs," Ziva said, presently the list to him.

"This is your grudge list?" he asked.

"Yes."

"It's 11 pages long!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"Again, yes!" Ziva answered. "I told you it would not be a short list." Tony snickered before Gibbs shot him a look.

"Since you find it so amusing DiNozzo, you can start on that list. Did you find McGee yet?"

"No Boss…" Tony said slowly.

"Well get on it!"

"No need Gibbs!" Abby said, running up. "McGee is in my lab helping me. We have an ID on our mystery shooter!" Abby dragged them all down to her lab. The shooter's face glared down at them from the huge screen.

"He was Petty Officer Jacob Brown. He was given a dishonorable discharge in 2002 and no one seems to know why. He has no known relatives, just an ex-wife," Abby finished.

"You have the addresses?" Gibbs asked.

"You have to ask?" Abby asked, mock offended. She presented Gibbs with the paper and Gibbs gave her his Abby-smile as he walked out, flanked by McGee, Ziva and Tony.

"Thanks Abbs!" he called over his shoulder.

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Ziva ruffled through to pigpen that Brown had called a home.

"This is insane!" she called to Tony.

"He makes me look like Mr. Clean, and do you have any idea how hard that is?" Tony called back.

"Yes," Ziva said. "Remember, I've seen where you live." Tony waggled his eyebrows, though he knew she couldn't see it.

A half hour later, they had hardly made a dent in their search. Two hours later, they have actually managed to reach the kitchen.

"Anything?" Tony asked.

"Besides the moldy food and dirty dishes? No."

Tony stopped in his tracks after closing the fridge. "Ziva!" he called. Ziva came to him and stared over his shoulder. Taped on the fridge was a picture of Tony and Ziva in the field. Tony's face had a black X over it. Ziva's was circled in bright red. Tony flipped open his phone.

"Boss…"

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"So you got nothing from the apartment?" Gibbs asked over the phone.

"Just the picture, and who knows what that means," Tony said.

"Assassin," Gibbs answered. "Finish up and bring that picture to Abby, McGee and I will meet you after we finish with the ex-wife."

Tony snapped the phone shut and nodded to Ziva. They'd dug through the house already, and that left only the garage. Ziva shoved open the garage door to reveal a small, beat up Toyota. They only got a brief glimpse of the dark car before Tony and Ziva were through backwards, landing twenty feet away as the car exploded in a ball of fire and flying debris.

Ziva propped herself up on her elbows, groaning as it put strain on her injured arm. Tony rolled over, trying to put out the fire on his jacket and letting lose a long string of profanities.

"Ziva," he groaned when he was done. "I think someone's really trying to kill you." Ziva glared and picked up a hunk of wood from the explosion and slammed it into Tony's ribs.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N So I do believe I owe you fine, upstanding people a chapter…This is what I do while in writing class. Instead of writing about what my professor tells me to. I know it's kinda short. Sorry.**

"That's it," the Director said. "We're putting you into protective custody."

"What?!" Ziva exploded. "I do not need protection!"

"Well I disagree," he replied. "This is not up for discussion."

"Gibbs!" Ziva appealed. "You cannot cut me out of this investigation!"

"I need her," Gibbs said.

"You can give her _secure_ updates at the end of the day. Please grab whatever you need from your desk and be ready to leave in five minutes." Ziva stormed out of the room, fuming. Gibbs followed after a long, hard look at the director.

Gibbs walked into their work area to find Ziva gathering items from her desk area. Drawers were slamming, objects were flying, and Tony and McGee were all but cowering in the corner by McGee's desk. Ziva yanked open the drawer of her desk, grabbed five knives of various lengths and slammed them onto to desk top. Next came two guns, and a lethal looking object that they weren't sure about. They backed farther away.

"Is there a reason neither of you are working?" Gibbs asked, sitting at his desk.

"No Boss," Tony said, inching cautiously towards his desk.

"DiNozzo! Pick up the pace!" Gibbs yelled. Tony moved slightly faster to his desk, only to drop to the floor as a keyboard soared over his head, violently crashing into the filing cabinets behind him.

"McGee! You and DiNozzo go back to the ex-wife. Bring her in, she knows more than she told us," Gibbs demanded.

"What about Ziva, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Protective custody!" Ziva spat. Tony and McGee gaped.

"Protection?" Tony asked. "We should be protecting the rest of the world FROM Ziva!" A book smashed into Tony's ribs. "I mean she's really a sweet girl!" he amended. "Harmless! Like a teddy bear! A teddy bear that will strangle you, gouge out your eyes, break your neck, cut off your ears with a plastic spoon…"

"If you're done, DiNozzo…"

"Right Boss," Tony said, grabbing his gear while clutching his ribs. "Ready to roll."

Two agents walked in, making a beeline for Ziva.

"Officer David, I am Agent Aaron McPherson, this is Agent Horace Gardner," he said, motioning to the pudgy, balding man next to him. Ziva looked her protection up and down, unimpressed. McPherson was an average looking man with average hair and an average smile. He stuck out his hand and muttered suggestively, "It will be a _pleasure _to watch over you, little lady."

Ziva regarded his outstretched hand as if it were poison. She threw the bag she'd packed into his hand and he staggered back.

"Speak to me like that again and I will have your tongue on a platter," Ziva threatened. McPherson stepped back, alarmed.

"I think you mean 'head', Ziva," Tony offered, grinning hugely at McPherson and the gaping Gardner.

"No, DiNozzo, she means 'tongue'," Gibbs said, amused. He, McGee and Tony walked out, towards the elevators. Tony patted McPherson on the shoulder as he walked by.

"Have fun," he said cheerfully.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Yay for speediness! **

Ziva sat on the couch, tapping her foot impatiently. She had been brought to a nearby NCIS safe house. While it wasn't an ugly home, it had the stale, uncomfortable feeling of a house that hasn't been lived in. McPherson sat in a chair opposite Ziva, fiddling with his holster uncomfortably. Ziva smiled and ran her fingers delicately over a knife she had sitting next to her. He eyed the knife, then jerked his gaze away. She laughed softly and stood up.

"If you'll excuse me," Ziva said, shooing him to the door. He looked at her, confused.

"My orders are to stay with you at all times, ma'am," he said. She stopped and glared at the word ma'am.

"Well Agent McPherson, I am going to get changed for bed. So you are going to leave this room, one way or another," Ziva promised.

"But I'm supposed to watch you at all times," he repeated stupidly. Ziva flipped open the knife in her fingers, then flipped it closed again. She regarded it quietly for a moment, then snapped her head up to look at McPherson.

"Get out!"

He got out. Very, very quickly.

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"Collette, you aren't making this any easier on yourself," McGee said. The ex-Mrs. Brown, now Collette Harrington, was a small, blonde woman. Her dull blue eyes darted all over the room, looking for a way out.

"I'm serious Ms. Harrington, you need to tell us everything you know," McGee said.

"I have!" Collette pleaded with McGee. "You have to believe me! I don't want to protect that slime."

"Well let's just start at the beginning. How long were you and Jacob Brown married?" he asked. Collette took a deep breath.

"We were married for six years," she said, sighing. "It just didn't work."

"Why?" McGee asked.

"He…changed. After his discharge, he was different. He escaped jail time, I'm not sure how, but ever since then, nothing has been the same. He started spending all his time with his damn drinking buddy."

"Who's that?" McGee asked.

"Thomas Carson," she muttered. "Stupid fuck."

"Some jerk from a local bar that Jacob and a bunch of Marines hang out in," Collette said, her delicate features contorting in anger. "That man…that man is pathetic. His mother is a Pakistani immigrant who married some big American businessman. Every time he was around, I could just feel the anger radiating off of him. He looked down on all of us, you could see how he hates us." Collette's blue eyes clouded over in rage.

"All right, you're going to have to work with a sketch artist," McGee said. Collette nodded, still seething.

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"Abby, did you find anything on a Thomas Carson?" Gibbs asked.

"No, nothing. It was probably an alias," Abby said. "I'll have more to go on when the ex is done with the sketch artist."

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A loud bang on the door made Ziva jump to her feet. She inched around the room, being sure to keep away from the middle of the door. She stood to the side, and yelled out, "Who is it?!"

"It's Tony!" a voice called back. She relaxed slightly, but still opened the door slowly. Just in case. Tony held up a few bags of food and grinned.

"What are you doing here?" Ziva asked.

"Well, it's good to see you, too, Ziva," Tony grumbled, and walked past her into the room.

"Where are Officers Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass?"

"I told them to leave me alone so I can change and every time they try to come back, I tell them that I am not ready," Ziva said. Tony smiled.

"Gibbs said to stop by. And to tell you, and I quote, 'stop abusing and baiting your protection'," Tony said, still smiling. "Have you broken any of their bones yet?"

"Very funny," Ziva said, snatching the food.

"I'm also supposed to ask you if you know someone who might go by the name 'Thomas Carson?" Tony asked.

"No," Ziva answered immediately.

"You're sure?" Tony asked. Ziva gave him a look. "Ok, you're sure," he muttered, backing off.

"It's Agent McPherson, Officer David! I'm coming in now! There is no way you're still changing!" yelled a voice from outside, a split second before McPherson burst angrily into the room. He saw Tony's back and his gun flew up.

"Don't move!" he shouted. Tony turned around, eyebrows raised. McPherson lowered his gun slowly. Tony smirked and shook his head.

"I've been here for, what, five minutes?" Tony said. "Some bodyguard you are."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Here's a longer chapter. Enjoy.**

"I knew you were here," McPherson sneered.

"Oh really," Tony said, his DiNozzo smile plastered all over his face. "Then why did you point your gun at me, all 'oh shit'-like?"

McPherson gaped, then glared. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"The Director said we could update Ziva in a secure fashion. I'm secure. Though if you want to strip search me to make sure, it's gonna cost you extra," Tony said.

"You're updating her with food?" McPherson asked skeptically.

"Director Vance never specified that we couldn't have a little visit. Or provide nourishment," Tony answered, loving the bewildered look on McPherson's face. "We were sure to be very clear on all restrictions. Right now, I'm totally in-bounds."

"You…you're circumventing the Director's wishes! You're specifically evading the Director's specific instructions that specify what exactly…"

"You know McPherson, all the variations of 'specific' don't need to be crammed into the same sentence," Tony said, chiding. "Also, all the big words you know don't have to be used all at once either."

McPherson was fuming.

"And since we now have me here, a real live qualified NCIS agent to serve as a bodyguard, we really don't need you at the moment. Bye bye!" he waved McPherson out of the room. McPherson looked lost, but eventually back out, glaring. Ziva laughed.

"Threatening his life was fun, but that was just so much amusing," she said.

"Yeah, well, I have a gift for pissing off guys who ogle at beautiful women," Tony said.

"Beautiful?" Ziva asked, unsure if she had heard him right.

"Yup. Especially MY beautiful women," Tony said, all his focus on his sandwich. He looked up at Ziva's shocked, confused, and, unless he was mistaken, _touched_ expression.

"And by _mine_ I mean my team, like you, well and Abby! Mine like my colleagues, mine like my friend not like I own them mine…" Tony babbled.

Ziva smiled, turned away and said into her soup, "I know what you mean, Tony. Thank you."

Before Tony could register what Ziva meant, shouts emanated from McPherson and Gardner's room. Shouts of "GET OUT, BOMB!"

Ziva and Tony bolted to the door before either one of them even thought about it. McPherson and Gardner were already halfway down the hall. Tony and Ziva dashed after them.

"Fucking cowards!" Tony huffed out as he ran. They almost were around the corner when the resonating BOOM erupted. Tony crash tackled Ziva around the corner, just as she tried to do the same. They collided, and tumbled head over heels down the hall as the bomb wreaked havoc on the ten rooms in its blast radius. When they were fairly certain it was safe to move, Tony and Ziva disentangled themselves from each other. Ziva immediately pushed herself to her feet as Tony stayed on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Ziva asked.

"Why, that would be a bomb Ziva," Tony said on his back. "Which makes the second bomb in two days. Not a good omen for us. Not too great on the ribs either." He rolled himself awkwardly to his feet.

"No, I mean that!" Ziva said, vaguely gesturing up and down his body.

"Do you mean my valiant efforts to keep you from a fiery, horrible death?" Tony asked. "What the hell was that?" He flitted his hand in front of her, mimicking her motion.

"That was my attempt to keep you from a fiery death!"

"Well, I should be the one protecting you from the death," Tony said.

"Why?" Ziva laughed, "Because I am a woman?"

"No, because I am the senior field agent and it's my job to keep my little agents safe," Tony answered.

"Why Tony, I did not know you cared."

Tony flipped open his phone, calling Gibbs. A few seconds of talk and he flipped it closed.

"Gibbs says to come on back and to drag those two worthless pieces of crap with us," Tony said, referring to Gardner and McPherson.

"What about the protective custody?"

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"Your protective custody is done, Director."

"You don't decide when an order of protection is finished, Agent Gibbs!" Vance yelled.

"Your agents somehow managed to let a bomb go off and destroy or damage 15 rooms in the hotel Officer David was staying at! If it weren't for DiNozzo, all three agents might have been in one room and not have had any warning! Even worse, those two little morons are so incompetent, they didn't even know someone was following them! To top it all off, when there was danger, the ran AWAY from the person they should have been protecting!" Gibbs yelled right back.

Vance glared at Gibbs. "Things happen."

"Yeah and now I'm bringing David back."

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"ZivaZivaZivaZivaZivaZivaZiva!" Abby cried out, smashing into her as she got out of the elevator. "Oh my god another bomb? I'm so glad you're ok! I'll look everything over, I'll find something I swear! TONY!" Abby threw herself around Tony's neck. He winced in pain and patted her on the back.

"We're ok, Abby," he promised.

"You better be."

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"Gibbs! I figured it out!"

"Define 'it', Abby."

"Well, I guess not all of it…but I figured something out! I'm not going to bore you with all the techie talking here, just tell you that each bomb maker does something different, unique. A signature, if you will. This bomb maker's signature, both from the hotel and garage, match that of a suspect the FBI has as an errand boy in an anti-Semitic hate society." Abby said proudly.

"Name, Abs?"

"Thomas Rancin, aka, Thomas Carson," Abby said, bringing up a drivers license picture. Gibbs smiled and kissed Abby on the cheek, before power walking out of the lab. Abby smiled at her machines and took a bow, then started clapping for them. Gibbs smiled, shaking his head in the elevator.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N So I have a question for you all. Do you prefer frequent chapter updates or less frequent, longer updates? Just curious.**

Ziva sat huffily at her desk, glaring in the general direction of the Director's office. He'd started it though, when she had first walked in, he had perched over the railing and if looks could kill, Ziva would have died on the spot. Then again, the look Ziva gave him in return would have reduced him to a quivering puddle. Gibbs appeared from Abby's lab, looking less displeased than usual.

"McGee, Tony, Ziva! Abby got an ID on Jacob Brown's friend. Let's go get him," he said. They immediately jumped up, ready to go. Gibbs didn't even bother to tell Ziva to stay behind. He just put a hand on her arm and said, "We want him alive, clear?"

She had said that was not a problem.

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The building was nice. It was the one of those huge, modern buildings that housed both offices and condos.

"Wow," Tony said. "Looks like hate societies are paying their errand boys pretty well these days."

"I'm starting to think maybe he's a little higher up than errand boy," McGee said.

"Really Probie?" Tony asked. "Are you sure? 'Cause I was thinking…"

"Shut up DiNozzo!" Gibbs said.

"Thomas Rancin is in room 2404," Ziva reported.

"The 24th floor? Perfect," Tony said.

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Ziva, Tony, McGee and Gibbs flanked the door, ready to burst in.

"Federal Agents!" Tony yelled as he slammed his fist into the door. When there was no answer, he took a step back and kicked it in.

The condo was the exact opposite of what Jacob Brown's had been. Everything was new, neat, and sterile. It looked like it could have been ripped out of the pages of a Dania catalogue. They fanned out, covering the entire apartment. Tony and Ziva perched at the corner before a second bedroom. Ziva kicked it in and entered, followed by Tony, guns up. Thomas Rancin was standing in the middle of the room, which was empty except for a small lamp without a shade sitting in the far corner. There was a wicked looking 9 inch knife in his right hand. Ziva and Tony advanced, cautiously.

"Hands up!" Tony yelled.

"Drop the knife!" Ziva ordered.

The lamp in the corner grew steadily brighter.

"Ziva?" Tony asked, warily, not daring to take his eyes off Thomas. Ziva's eyes narrowed, seeing through the unreal lamp glow that Rancin had closed his eyes tightly and suddenly ducked, curling himself into a ball on the floor.

"Tony! Get down, eyes shut!" Ziva yelled. They both dropped like rocks, almost in time. The bulb in the lamp overheated to the point where the glass couldn't take it anymore. It shattered, shards shooting across the room. They slapped across Ziva and Tony's skin, raking bloody paths on any exposed surface. They covered their eyes, staying as close to the ground as possible.

Before the glass had stopped flying, Rancin was up and kicking the guns out of their hands. Ziva rolled out of the way to avoid a savage kick to the face, but Tony wasn't as lucky. Thomas' steel toed boot connected with Tony's ribs, causing him to grunt loudly and annoyed. Ziva rolled to her feet and yanked a long knife from her waist, holding it seal-style. They circled each other, occasionally lunging forward in a feint to test each other. Then Thomas lunged, aiming his knife so that it would go up and under the rib cage, making easy contact with her heart. Thomas was definitely playing for keeps.

Ziva dodged, warding off the blow with her own knife. He slammed her forehead into the wall. She staggered back a step but managed to regain her footing fast. She slashed at him, missing his body and grazing his arm. Ziva whirled, kicking his knife out of his hand. He lunged for it where it had landed, only to be crash tackled by Ziva. He slammed his elbows into Ziva's torso over and over until he realized it was having no effect. Thomas reached out and grabbed a piece of the broken glass and backhanded Ziva, carving a bloody line in her cheek. She flew back from the force of the blow and looked up to see Rancin perched over her, one of the guns pointed down at her face. She scanned from options, seeing none, she prepared herself for the end and pictured…

Tony was suddenly behind Rancin. He swung the remnants of the lamp, baseball style, slamming it into the back of Rancin's head. Rancin immediately crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Ziva exhaled and closed her eyes, laying her head back down on the ground. She heard Tony cuffing Thomas' hands and frisking him. She didn't bother to open her eyes and check, she trusted he was doing it right.

"Ziva?" His voice inches from her face registered, but she kept her eyes closes, making a vague noise in the back of her throat. "Ziva?" Tony's voice was getting faster, frantic. "Ziva are you ok?"

She forced her eyes open. "I am fine," she said. He held a hand out to Ziva and she wrapped her fingers around Tony's, his curling tightly around hers. He pulled her gently to her feet, putting a steadying hand at the small of her back when she swayed slightly. He looked a question at her.

"I am fine," she repeated as Gibbs and McGee came charging in, guns raised. "We seem to do a lot of tackling in our jobs. Suspects and each other," Ziva said. Tony held his arm around her waist and she swayed again. He knew she was more hurt than she was letting on when she let him take most of her weight.

"I think you need to sit down, Ziva," Tony said, leading her out of the room to sit down at Rancin's small kitchen table. She felt a nasty bruise forming on her forehead where Thomas had hit it on the wall. She barely groaned, but it was enough that they all heard it, and it worried them.

"Medics will be here in a few minutes," McGee said, closing his phone. Tony and Ziva nodded almost in unison, causing McGee to pause, then shake his head. He did, however, notice that Tony was still squatted next to Ziva's chair, his arm draped lightly around her waist. He also noted Ziva's arm clutching to Tony's side.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Seriously now, Tiva fans are amazing. Every review I've had was nice and enthused, and no one was yelling at me! Score. So, thank you all for being amazing, and in return, early chapter, yeah! Review please, I like to know what people really think.**

The medic shone his light into Ziva's eye, then out again. Then in again. And out again. Ziva was about to bat his hand away when he stopped.

"Well," he said to Gibbs, Tony and McGee, "neither pupil is blown, she's responsive, which is good. She isn't sluggish or off balance anymore."

"She is also right here and can hear you perfectly," Ziva grumbled. The medic half smiled, almost apologetically.

"I'd like to bring her into the hospital to make sure she doesn't have a concussion," the medic finished. They all nodded wordlessly.

"I'll bring myself in," Ziva said. "I don't need a stretcher," she added, waving away the gurney impatiently.

"You have to come in," the medic said, sternly. "And you shouldn't be driving."

"I'll bring her in," Tony offered. Ziva, Gibbs and McGee nearly froze in shock at his offer.

"That would be fine," the medic said, not noticing their shock.

"All right," Gibbs said. He motioned to the handcuffed Thomas Rancin. Rancin was still in the same room where the fight between him Ziva and Tony had taken place, guarded and unconscious by one of the agents.

"Now you can check him over," Gibbs said. He'd forced the medic to check over Ziva and Tony before attending to Rancin. They watched as half Pakistani man stirred and slowly became conscious. The medic finished with him fairly quickly, declaring him fine. Gibbs and McGee escorted him out of the room to bring him back to base.

Ziva and Tony stayed behind to get instructions from the EMT on where to go when they came to the hospital. They left Rancin's condo a few minutes after Gibbs and gratefully entered the elevator outside his door.

"Are you sure you're ok, Ziva?" Tony asked, knowing she wouldn't like the question. She didn't disappoint.

"Tony, I am fine," Ziva said. Tony dropped, seeing no point in pressing on when they both knew she was going to the hospital anyways. The both watched the little light-up numbers above the door descend. When the number six lit up, the elevator snapped to a jarring halt. Ziva and Tony barely managed to keep their footing and avoid falling flat on their faces. Tony groaned in frustration as the lights flickered off and the small, blue backup lights came on. The elevator now looked like the inside of a very dark metal freezer.

"Emergency power?" Tony yelled. "This is ridiculous." He flipped open his phone and immediately slammed it shut, seeing he had no service.

Ziva lowered herself to the ground, resting her back against the wall. Tony sat next to her, his hands on his knees. Neither spoke, each of them trapped in their own internal musings.

"It's just our luck that the elevator breaks on our trip down," Tony said. Ziva said nothing, but nodded next to him. Tony was suddenly keenly aware of the face that the side of Ziva's body was pressed tightly against the line of his. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, deciding against speaking. The third time he did this, Ziva spoke.

"Your mouth is grasping like a fish, Tony," Ziva said, amused. "Just say what you are trying to say."

"The phrase is gasping like a fish, Ziva," Tony said, annunciating her name. "I was just thinking…well, remember that conversation we had awhile ago? Well, I guess a really like time ago…"

"You are going to have to be a bit more specific, Tony, we have had a lot of conversations over the past few years."

"When we were by the vending machine," Tony started again, softly. He felt Ziva still beside him. "You asked me if I believed in soul mates, and I think I said something idiotic…"

"You did. And I said you will never understand," Ziva said quietly. Tony nodded. He reached over tentatively, without all his normal Tony-swagger. He touched the back of her hand, which was resting on her knee. When she didn't pull away, he wrapped his fingers around hers, squeezing lightly. After a few minutes of sitting this way, he turned to her.

"You're wrong," he said. "I do understand." Ziva locked eyes with him, all the implications of his words sinking in. Her normally guarded face softened. Tony smiled, for once without any trace of teasing and Ziva returned it.

Something changed then. They didn't know what at the time, only that something was different. Not broken or ruined, but changed. The sat, sides pressed against each other and hands wound together.

Two hours later, they were still stuck. They had moved around, trying to find a phone signal, but the entire elevator was a dead zone. They eventually ended up in the same position as before. Ziva's head was starting to hurt her more, causing her to lean over and rest it on Tony's shoulder. She was feeling sleepy, which she vaguely knew should be worrying her, but she was too tired to care.

The elevator suddenly jerked. The florescent lights flashed on brightly, causing Ziva to wince, and the elevator started moving down slowly. Ziva and Tony pulled themselves to their feet.

"That took a long time," Tony muttered. Ziva shielded her eyes, the lights were wreaking havoc on her headache. She could have sworn they were getting brighter, too.

"Yes, it - "Ziva's words were cut off as she crumpled on the spot. Tony managed to catch her before she smacked into the ground, barely. The elevator pinged open, revealing Tony lugging the unconscious form of Ziva to a crowd of shocked onlookers in the lavish lobby.

"What are you standing there for?" Tony yelled. "Help me!"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N So here's a pretty long update. Thank you for the feedback, you all are fabulous.**

Tony stood in the corner of the dim hospital room, watching as Dr. Miller checked over Ziva again. She sighed, walking over to Tony. She pulled her blonde hair out of her pony tail and swished it over her shoulders. Tony didn't even look, his eyes stayed trained on Ziva.

"Well," she said, put out that he wasn't responding to her advances. "It's the same story as yesterday when you brought her in. She did have a concussion I'm not sure how the EMT missed it. It went unnoticed and untreated since you two were in the elevator for so long. She's still in a coma, but it's just a matter of time until she pulls herself out of it."

Tony nodded, sighing. "Thanks Dr. Miller," he said. She walked out, annoyed that he kept ignoring her flirting. Gibbs and McGee came in after her before the door even swung shut.

"How is she doing?" McGee asked.

"No change," Tony mumbled. "I'm sorry, Boss. I should have gotten her out of there faster, I should have-"

"DiNozzo," Gibbs interrupted, "We both know if Officer David refuses to do something, she won't do it. You got her here as fast as humanly possible."

"Hey, I never did find out, why did the elevator stop?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

"Rancin pulled out another explosive," McGee said, frowning at the memory.

"How?" Tony asked. "We searched him, twice."

"You don't want to know where he pulled it out from," McGee said darkly. Tony made a face.

"So? Why did that cut us to emergency power?"

"Some idiot working in building security pushed an emergency situation button thing," Gibbs said.

"And whatever genius designed the system decided that all power to elevator should be cut, too," McGee finished.

"Well that's just poor planning…" Tony said. "Where's Rancin been all this time?"

"Sitting in an interrogation room." Gibbs answered.

"For the last day and a half?"

"Well he hasn't said anything and hasn't asked for a lawyer so we have no reason to let him go," McGee said.

"We're going to go back and resume interrogation," Gibbs said. "Call me when something changes with Ziva."

"Will do Boss," Tony said as they left.

After he was sure Gibbs and McGee had left the floor, he crossed the room and shut the door, pulling the blinds over it and all the windows. He walked to Ziva until he was looking down at her. He had never equated her will the word "small". She was so imposing that he never thought much about her physical size. But seeing her with a huge bruise decorating her face and cuts all over her skin made him realize how tiny she looked.

He sat next to her and there was easily enough room. He scooted all the way down until he was parallel with Ziva. He turned so that he was slightly facing her and moved his so that it was as if it would be wrapped around her if it could be. And if she wouldn't break it. He shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable then exhaled slowly.

That's how he stayed for the rest of the day and well into the night. Around two am, he was teetering on the edge of sleep when Ziva stirred next to him. He moved so that he was sitting, looking down on her. She opened her eyes slowly, having problems focusing.

"Tony?"

"Morning coma case," he joked, hiding his relief.

"Mmmmff," was her reply. Then her eyelids sagged closed, her body relaxing as she slipped unconscious again. Tony sprang off of the bed and ran to the nearest nurse station.

"Officer David just woke up and slipped out again!" he said quickly. The nurse jumped up and followed him to Ziva's room. She checked her out and studied the readings from the machines Ziva was hooked up to. She grabbed the phone from the table, paging Dr. Miller. Within minutes, she was there. She did the exact same thing the nurse did before turning to Tony.

"She's out of the come," she said, smiling. "She's just exhausted and is sleeping. Let her sleep through the night, she should be better in the morning. She should be fine in a few days. Please tell me when she wakes up." The nurse and Dr. Miller left the room without hitting on Tony at all. She knew by now that he wouldn't reciprocate.

Tony stepped into the hall to call Gibbs.

"Yeah, she woke up Boss. She's out like a light now though, Dr. Miller said she's out of the coma and will wake up tomorrow."

"Good," Gibbs said. "You're staying tonight?"

"Yeah, Boss. How's the interrogation going?"

"He's not admitting to anything yet," Gibbs said. "Call me when she wakes up."

Tony slinked back into the room, pulling up a chair next to Ziva's bed.

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Ziva woke up very aware of a few things. The first was that her head still hurt obnoxiously. The second was that the sunlight was trying to spill in through the holes in the closed blinds, warming half of her face. The third was that Tony's head was collapsed on the bed next to her thigh, his hand resting on hers. And he was snoring.

"Tony?"

No response.

"Tony!"

Tony jumped up in alarm, flying backwards and knocking over his chair he fell ungracefully to the ground. He pulled himself up, ignoring his aching ribs and placing the chair where it had been before. He smoothly folded himself into it. Ziva took in his disheveled appearance and the stubble on his face.

"You are wearing the same clothes, Tony. Have you been here all night?" she asked.

"It is now about noon, which makes it 48 hours since you passed out in the elevator. So I've been here for a little under two days," he said.

"I have been in here for two days?!" she asked shocked. "What about Thomas Rancin? What happened?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down," Tony said, putting his hands out in front of him. "He is in custody. Gibbs has been interrogating him, without much luck."

"Then we have to go!" Ziva said, trying to push her way out of bed. "Tony, get out of the way. I am fine!"

"The last time you said you were fine, you passed out on me in an elevator, you remember that? Ringing any Israeli bells?" Tony said.

"Gibbs has been trying to two days?" Ziva said. "It is my turn. I need to know why this happened. And since Rancin was after me I can most likely get more information out of him!"

Tony frowned at her logic.

"Gibbs is so not gonna like this."

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"Officer David!" Gibbs thundered. "What are you doing here? You should be in a hospital bed!"

"I can break him Gibbs!" Ziva answered.

"How could you let her come here?" Gibbs rounded on Tony.

"It's _Ziva, _Boss!" Tony said. "What was I supposed to do, sit on her?"

"If you had to!" Gibbs said.

"That wouldn't work, she's break my pelvis!"

"Give me a shot!" Ziva said.

"You were just in a coma!" Gibbs yelled.

"It was just a little coma!" Ziva countered. Gibbs put a hand over his eyes and turned to her after a minute of consideration.

"At the first sign of unhealthiness, I'm yanking your ass out and dragging you to a hospital myself, clear?"

"Got it," Ziva agreed.

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Gibbs, McGee and Ziva sat in the room on the opposite side of the two way mirror, staring into the interrogation room. Rancin's head snapped up when Tony came in.

"I've been here for over two days, when are you gonna let me go?" Rancin asked. Tony laughed.

"Well, since you're going to be charged for the multiple attempted murders of two federal agents, you won't be going anywhere other than jail. So I'd enjoy this if I were you. Consider it your pre-incarceration vacation," Tony said.

"You're pathetic," Rancin snorted. Then a smile slowly spread over his previously impassive face. "How's your female agent. Ziva, I believe?" His smirk grew as if he just revealed that he knew some great secret.

"Oh, heart attack!" Tony yelled as he clutched his chest. "He knows her name, call the EMT!!"

"She's dead, isn't she?" Rancin asked, smiling still. Tony forced his face to look stony and hurt. Rancin's smile grew. "She is," he said, reclining with is hands behind his head,

"You bastard," Tony said overdramatically.

The door flew open, slamming into the wall behind it. Rancin jumped. Tony stood slowly and walked to the door. He looked from Ziva to Rancin and back again.

"Not very dead, is she?" he asked Rancin, then turned to Ziva. "Don't break him too badly, we might wanna use him for something later."

Ziva sat herself across from him and cocked her head to the side.

"Sweating, Thomas?" she asked, please when the beads on his forehead grew. "Bombs…bombs are the coward's way out. They allow you to kill someone without ever having to look at their face. At least that is the theory, they did not seem to work well on Tony and me. So that makes you a coward with one attempt with a drunken recruit and 3 different attempts with bombs. You are very careful not to come face to face with me," Ziva said. She walked around the table until she was standing behind him. She lowered her lips to his ear.

"Now why is that?" she asked softly. Rancin twitched. Ziva laughed and continued circling him. "And now, after all of your failed attempts, here we are."

Rancin was almost full on shaking by now. Gibbs, McGee and Tony watched, shocked.

"Why," Ziva asked, flipping open a folding knife she'd stashed in her pocket, "are you so afraid of me?"

Rancin couldn't take his eyes off of the blade. "I'd been…warned….about you. Told what you had done to other enemy agents."

"So you used bombs. Too bad you never learned that bombs are less reliable and more volatile then doing the job yourself. There is another thing you never learned," Ziva said. She leaned over the table, putting her face inches from Rancin's. She brought her hand up quick and stabbed he knife into the table.

"If you ever try to kill me, you had better make sure I am dead."

Rancin all but had a coronary right there as he scrambled to getaway from Ziva, his cocky mannerism from earlier vanishing.

"Now," Ziva said slowly. "You are going to tell me exactly what I want to know."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Smiles for Tiva.**

He gave up everything in about five minutes. The organization of the hate society, their plans, he even gave them a list of every member he could think of, just to get Ziva out of the room. He gave them anything they could think to ask for. It was beautiful.

"So what do we got?" Vance asked. He was standing in the space between Ziva, McGee, Tony, and Gibbs' desks. They were all staring at one of the huge screens. A picture of an angry Palestinian man filled half of it, with his information on the side.

"He came to America six years ago and changed his name to Frank Hanson," McGee said. "And according to Thomas Rancin, he is the ring leader."

"What's the group's goal?" Vance asked.

"We think they sent a soldier from America to kill Ziva, hoping to destabilize relations between Israel and the US," McGee answered again.

"And they think killing one Israeli agent would do that?" Vance asked.

"They think that is they killed a Mossad/NCIS officer whose father is the Director of Mossad…well they think that would get the job done," Gibbs said.

"And that's all they want to do?" Vance asked.

"There's no way that's all of the plan," Tony said.

"That is why we need to raid their base of operations and ask them ourselves," Ziva said.

"WE aren't going to do anything," Gibbs said. "You're going back to the hospital and under observation."

"Gibbs!" Ziva protested.

"Don't make me handcuff you to your bed," Gibbs threatened. Ziva narrowed her eyes.

"It would not do much good," she said. "I would get out in three minutes."

"I'd hate to head-slap a woman with a concussion."

"Gibbs, I need to be there!" Ziva said. Gibbs sighed.

"You can stay here and help us interrogate them when we get back. It's that, Officer David, or I chain you to the hospital. Clear?"

"Fine," Ziva grumbled, sitting back down.

"And I'm sending Ducky to check you out!" Gibbs called over his shoulder as he walked to the elevator, McGee and Tony following. Tony caught Ziva's glance and her eyes followed him until he turned in the elevator. He sent her a small smile before the doors closed.

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The team, sans Ziva, was accompanied by a huge contingent of NCIS agents, local police, even FBI, Vance wanted to shut these guys down and he didn't particularly care who all came to the party. International security, he's joked.

They stormed in and everyone who was in the warehouse was face down on the ground with their hands behind their heads within 40 seconds.

"Frank Hanson," Tony said, kicking one of the men lightly.

"Uh huh," Gibbs responded, staring down at the unwavering man. "Let's get him back."

Tony yanked the man up and pushed so that Hanson was walking in front of him.

"You know, I'm not sure how you expected to kill a Mossad agent like Officer David. Seems like a pretty stupid idea actually," Tony mused.

"Not at all," Hanson said smoothly. "I kill Mossad operatives all of the time." Tony tripped Hanson with his foot, slamming him to his knees. Hard. He grabbed his shoulders from behind and pulled Hanson's head back until it was inches from Tony's.

"Not OUR Mossad operative," he hissed in Hanson's ear. "Looks like you learned your lesson though, doesn't it? Mossad comes back to bite you in the ass."

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Gibbs dragged Hanson and two other underlings into separate interrogation rooms. Ziva, Tony, McGee and Gibbs spent a few hours working on the two underlings, not getting anything useful. They were obviously more terrified of Hanson than a federal agency that they hadn't heard of.

"I can make him more frightened of me than Hanson," Ziva offered.

"No," Gibbs said. "You and Tony go work on Hanson. We'll finish here, try to get more out of them."

Ziva and Tony nodded in agreement and left to talk to Hanson. In the hall between interrogation rooms, Ziva and Tony paused. He turned quickly to her, their bodies only centimeters away. He held his body over hers as if fending off an invisible blow.

"Don't let him get to you, Ziva," he said softly.

"He won't get to me," Ziva answered, brushing off Tony's concern.

"Ziva," he said, putting his hand on the side of her face. "Be careful." Ziva leaned into his hand before pulling away slowly. She flashed him a smile as she pulled open the door.

"Where is the fun in that?"

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"So Hanson," Tony said, sitting at the table.

"Don't waste interrogation techniques on me, they won't work," Hanson said.

"What about my techniques?" Ziva asked from the corner. Hanson glanced at her, quickly taking his eyes off of her and back to Tony.

"Han-son," Tony said, stretching out the name. "You idolize us? Is that why you pick all the American-y names?"

"You?" Hanson spat. "You're a pathetic, Godless nation." Hanson rearranged himself. "New names make us not stand out. And that is all I'm saying!"

No matter how they prodded him, trying to get him to talk, he quite literally said not a word. Finally, Ziva threw her hands up in the air.

"Tony, why don't you go and get Gibbs. Tell him we are finished here," Ziva suggested lightly. Tony narrowed his eyes, but nodded slowly, leaving. Ziva exhaled as soon as the door was closed.

"So, now we can finish this," Ziva said. Hanson looked up, alarmed.

"Wh-what?"

Ziva yanked the chair next to Hanson and jammed it under the door handle so that it couldn't be opened from the outside. She whipped back around to face Hanson. He fells sideways off of his chair, trying to keep the table between him and Ziva. And failing. Ziva was faster, pulling her gun out and pressing it to the middle of his forehead.

"You are now going to answer me!"

"Yo-you can't kill me! They'll take your job!" Hanson stammered. Ziva pressed the gun closer. The door started rattling.

"You are going to have to come up with a better reason than that," Ziva said.

"I…I…"

"Hmm, good point," she said. "You would die way too quickly to get anything useful out of you." Ziva switched the gun for a six inch knife, pointing the tip at the hollow of his throat.

"Ziva!" McGee's voice vaguely came through the door.

"It isn't personal!" Hanson yelled. "I don't even hate Jews!"

"Then why are you leading a hate society?" Ziva yelled.

"It's not a hate society! It's a contract group! We were hired by an organization in Palestine!"

"What did they want? WHAT. DID. THEY. WANT?!"

"They wanted you dead! They want the daughter of the Mossad Director dead! It would destroy the trust between your countries for years!" Hanson yelled back.

"That cannot be the only plan!" Ziva screamed, slamming her hand into the wall behind Hanson. "Because that is a HORRIBLE plan!"

Hanson's eyes jumped to the knife as Ziva pressed it harder into his throat, just this side of drawing blood.

"Th-that's only part of it!" he gasped.

"Then tell me what the rest is!" The door was shaking like a leaf in hurricane season.

"They're planning an op!"

"WHERE?!"

"Tel Aviv! Against Director David!"

The door flew open as Ziva pulled the knife away. McGee, Tony and Gibbs spilled in. Gibbs pulled Ziva roughly into the hall.

"Don't ever make me break down a door again," Gibbs said, low and dangerous.

"Gibbs, this group is planning an attack in Tel Aviv! We have to warn them!" she told him. She relayed everything Hanson had said. Gibbs yelled for Tony and McGee, who came out of interrogation with a written and signed of what Hanson had said.

"We have a problem," Gibbs told them.

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"We got Director David's personal assistant. He said the Director is currently unavailable," a worker in MTAC reported.

"When will he BE available?" Gibbs asked.

"He doesn't know. We've tried two other contacts in the Mossad that we speak to on occasion. With Director David's permission," he added to Ziva.

"Nothing?" she asked quietly.

"No," he said apologetically. "And no one will field our calls."

"Keep trying," Gibbs ordered. "Ziva, Tony, McGee! We're going to Israel."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Sorry it took so long, real life took over. Very bad real life. If I had written this as quickly as the others, the team would have died in a fiery plane crash and we don't want that.**

Ziva paced nervously. She has never been claustrophobic, but sitting helplessly in a plane was causing a partial episode. She'd already checked in with the pilots, re-swept the plane for bombs (three times) and was now carving a path in the floor from the front of the plane to the back.

McGee and Tony watching her, worrying. Gibbs pretended not to notice.

"Ziva, relax," Tony said.

"We'll get there Ziva, it'll be all right," McGee chimed in.

"All right?" Ziva exploded, glad to have a target for her pent up energy and frustration. "What about this is all right? How do you KNOW we will get there in time?"

"Ziva!" Tony said. McGee looked frightened. Ziva's eyes darted around the three faces staring at her.

"I am sorry McGee," she said, before retreating quickly to the back of the plane.

"I got it Boss," Tony said, following Ziva.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," McGee cautioned.

Gibbs assessed him before finally saying, "Don't get hurt."

Tony followed Ziva to the back. He pulled closed the door separating the front from the back, leaving McGee and Gibbs behind.

"Ziva?" Tony asked. He walked farther in, shocked to see her sitting on a small box, head in her hands. "Ziva?" His voice grew softer the closer he got to her. She looked up and Tony almost took an involuntary step back. He caught himself and pushed forward, kneeling in front of her. He reached out to touch her and she jerked. Tony froze, then placed his hands firmly on hers, which were still on her temples. He pulled then down and held them tightly, forcing her to look at him.

"Ziva. If anyone can do this it's you. And you have us, so you're set."

"But what if we are too late? Tony, he is my father! I lost my little sister, and my brother, I can't lose him too!" Ziva nearly moaned. Tony leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"We will do everything in our power to stop this attack," Tony promised.

"I know," Ziva answered. "But I also know that it will probably not be enough."

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The team's plane landed in Tel Aviv and less than ten minutes later, they arrived at Mossad's headquarters. Ziva ran and got through security quickly. She had called ahead, informing the man in charge of security (who happened to owe her a favor), that McGee, Gibbs and Tony would be coming. They didn't have to deal with any obnoxious searches.

They made it to Director David's office in five more minutes, a record for Ziva. She burst in, a secretary looked up alarmed from typing. Ziva noticed the lack of bodyguards and fear gripped her.

"Where is Director David?" Ziva asked.

"Uhm…" the secretary stammered. Ziva slammed her fist against the desk.

"Where is my father?!"

"He went out!" the secretary squeaked.

"When?"

"Two hours ago?" the secretary guessed.

"With who?!"

"I don't know! I've never seen him before!"

Ziva pushed open his office door and the secretary jumped to her feet.

"You can't go in there!" she said. Ziva whirled.

"Sit. Down." Her voice was dangerously low and the secretary slowly sat.

Ziva rifled through the room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, before a small yellow post-it stuck on the wheel on the Director's chair caught her eye.

"Gibbs!" Ziva yelled. "I've got an address!"

"How do you know it's the one we need?" he asked, coming over.

"It has my name on it."

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They reached the address quickly. Ziva was driving. It was a small hotel in a seedy neighborhood. It didn't take long for Ziva to get the necessary information out of the manager, and they dashed to the appropriate room. Ziva wasted no time kicking in the door as soon as she reached it. They burst in, covering the entire room before Ziva ran to the form of her father, bound to a chair in the middle of the room.

"Father?" she asked, shaking him. "Come on, come on!" David Sr. opened his eyes blearily. Regarding Ziva, they became sharp.

"Ziva?" he asked. Ziva threw her arms around his neck.

"We are getting you out of here," she said, slicing at the rope that crudely bound him.

"No, Ziva!" her father yelled. "Leave! Go, go!"

"What?" she asked. "No, we came for you! I'm not leaving until-"

The ceiling suddenly collapsed around them, three men dropping from above, luckily missing the team and Director David. Ziva pointed her gun, only to duck again when the sliding glass door leading to the balcony exploded inwards, showering them all with glass. A tall man with tanned skin and dark features stalked in, pointing a machine gun at Ziva. The men from the ceiling pointed them as well.

"Who the hell are you?" Ziva snapped. The man's smile widened.

"You don't recognize the man responsible for your little sister's death?" he asked. Ziva, Tony, Gibbs and McGee stared back blankly. The man's grin grew until he strongly resembled the Cheshire cat.

"You mean daddy didn't tell you?"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Sorry it took so long, real life takes over sometimes.**

Ziva didn't fall for his pathetic attempt to distract her. She kept her gun level with his heart. He smiled condescendingly at her, but she just kept her eyes trained on his.

"Daddy didn't tell you how young Talli died?" he sneered, dark features not sharing the amusement in his voice.

"Ziva-," her father started.

"Shut up," Ziva snapped. "Everyone shut up!" The man circled her, maliciously grinning. She moved with him, keeping her gun pointed.

"I-" he started.

"Don't want to talk," Ziva finished, throwing a sudden kick his way. The gun in his hand clattered to the ground. She heard her team spring into action behind her. She knocked the man to the floor but he managed a kick to her face. She flew backwards, landing on the ground. The man dashed by her, hitting the side of her head with the butt of his gun as he went. Ziva's vision swam. The last thing she saw was Tony's blurry face entering her line of sight.

"Son of a bitch," she swore before passing out.

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Ziva's nose twitched at the familiar sanitary smell that assaulted her. She was in a hospital. Again. _Great._ She forced her eyes open at the feel of her hair being stroked. Tony came into view, staring out the window while absentmindedly playing with her hair. She leaned her head over and gently bit his hand. Well, not _too_ gently. Tony jumped and jerked his hand back. Ziva laughed then pushed her hands to the sides of her head when the action caused her blinding pain.

"Eurgh," she muttered, rubbing her temple around the gauze that covered the wound from the butt of the gun.

"It hurt badly?" Tony asked, peering over from a relatively safe distance. She shot a 'no shit' look his way.

"How long?" she asked.

"Almost a day," Tony said, wincing as she flew up from the hospital bed.

"Where's Gibbs?" Ziva demanded.

"You plan on going somewhere, Officer David?" Gibbs asked, walking in. McGee followed.

"Yes, to see my father," Ziva said, walking around the room in search of her clothes.

"He's fine," Gibbs promised. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Normally, I'd make you stay here and heal, but your father is absolutely insisting on seeing you now." Gibbs thrust a bag of clothes at her. "So here."

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"You're doing pretty good for a lady with a concussion who just got hit in the side of the head," Tony commented as he escorted her to the Director's office. McGee and Gibbs has gone ahead to talk with the Mossad agents handling the case, leaving Tony and Ziva to deal with the messy hospital release papers.

"I have had concussion before, Tony," she said in the elevator. Ziva was still seething that the head bad guy has gotten away. The underlings were in custody, handled by Gibbs, Tony and McGee. But the guy in charge had gotten away. She wasn't mad at her team, she was mad at herself.

"It wasn't your fault," Tony said, as if reading her mind. She didn't even look at him.

"He and I fought. He got the better of me and he got away. How exactly is that not my fault?" she asked. Tony walked over, to comfort her, she assumed. She put a hand up between them and glanced around the elevator. "At Mossad, the walls have eyes and ears," she said.

He nodded but his hand twitched with the urge to take hers. She noticed and twitched hers in response, smiling slightly. The exchange was cut off as the opened to reveal the waiting room in front of Ziva's father's office. The crowd of people outside grumbled as Ziva pushed her way through them and entered the Director's office, Tony at her heels. Her father looked up as they burst in. He was sitting at his desk, arm in a sling.

"Ziva," he said, relieved. He came around the desk but Ziva stuck her hand out to stop him from coming any closer. He faltered, confused. "Ziva? Are you all right?" he asked.

"I am fine," Ziva said curtly. Tony backed away slowly as if he would slip out the door. "No Tony," she said, pointing a finger behind herself at him. "Stay." Tony froze on the spot. Director David looked at Ziva with confused and cautious eyes.

"What is it, Ziva?" he asked. Ziva paced widely in front of him, passing Tony multiple times. His hand twitched again as if to take hers. Her father didn't notice. Just like he never noticed. For being the Director of Mossad, he was shockingly unaware when it came to what Ziva wanted or felt.

"I have something to ask you and I want a straight answer. Do not dance around the issue like you always do," Ziva said. Her father glanced at Tony.

"Are you sure you want to do this in English?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Yes, I do," Ziva said firmly. "Who was that man?"

"He goes by many names," he said, sitting down wearily. "Most recently I suppose it is Benjamin, that's what his associates called him. Or the 'King', that's his codename." The disgust showed in his voice. Ziva stopped pacing and stood a few feet in front of Tony.

"What…" she asked and hesitated, before pushing forward. "What did he mean when he was talking about Talli?" Director David slightly paled then swept around the desk, yanking Ziva's hands into his. He didn't notice when she visibly stiffened.

"Ziva, he is trying to tear us apart! There is nothing to this-"

"If there is nothing to what he said, then answer my questions," she demanded. "As soon as Talli died, you never spoke of her again. It was as if she no longer existed, why is that?"

"Because she died Ziva! In a bombing!" he said, shaking her hands.

"For once!" Ziva yelled. "For once tell me the truth! Did he have anything to do with Talli's death?"

"You sister died tragically," he said stiffly.

"And how was that?" she asked. "Nothing added up after Talli died. You showed no emotion at her death, you never acknowledged she was gone until…until weeks later!" Ziva gathered herself, anger growing. "What happened in those weeks? Answer me! What did this Benjamin do?"

"I had no choice!" Director David yelled angrily. "He kidnapped your sister! His demands for her return were too great, so they killed her. The leader was Benjamin, the 'King'. You know we do not give in to terrorists like him, I wasn't about to start."

"So you told us she blew up?" Ziva asked, horror struck." Before they even killed her?!"

"I told you that to protect you! I didn't want you to live knowing-"

"Knowing what a monster my father is?" she hissed as he walked towards her. Ziva started breathing heavily and turned, walking as fast as possible without running from the room. Tony followed, shocked into silence.

The took the stairs. Ziva knew that is she stood still, she would start to think too hard and start screaming and not stop until she passed out. They ran down the stairs and over a mile to the lavish hotel that Mossad was paying for the team to stay at. Ziva and Tony were silent the entire way. Ziva was trying to get to her room as fast as possible, hoping to avoid a public breakdown. And she knew she was going to break down.

She barely made it to the hotel room before she collapsed to her knees on the ground. She went to all fours, sobs wracking her body. Tony was a second behind her. He heard her anguished scream and wasted no time. He kicked the door closed behind them and kneeled behind Ziva. He wrapped himself around her, cradling the back of her body to the front of his.

"Talli!" Ziva managed to choke out before screaming wordlessly. Tony rocked her back and forth, running his hand over her forehead and moving her hair out of her face. Still wrapped around Ziva, Tony leaned forward, resting the side of his face against hers. Her cheek was wet.

After a few minutes of heart wrenching agony, Ziva in unexplainable pain for her sister and Tony in anguish for being able to do nothing for her, Ziva's sobbing slowed. Eventually, the dry sobs and silent tears flowing down her face stopped. Tony gently pulled her up, turning her to face him. He pulled her to him in a giant enveloping hug. She pressed her face into his chest and shuddered.

"My sister," she rasped out. "My father is responsible for my little sister's death." Her voice sounded hollow, like someone has drained her of her essence. Tony rubbed her back in circles with one hand, while keeping the other securely around her waits.

"She was all I had," she moaned. The level of pure searing horror and grief burned through Tony, bringing unwanted tears to his eyes. "She was all I had and she is gone, killed by my father…he didn't even try to save her!" Tony rested his cheek on top of her head as a new wave of tears started.

"What were her last moments like? Knowing that the 'King' was negotiating with our father for weeks, and then realizing that he isn't coming? What would her last seconds in life have been like knowing the father she loved didn't care if she died?" Her horrible sorrow washed over her and she cried again. Their phones rang three times each before Tony finally pulled his out of his pocket.

"This isn't a good time," Tony said softly into his phone.

"Is Ziva all right?" came Gibbs' worried voice.

"In body," Tony said. "I'll call you in an hour." He hung up before Gibbs could say anything.

"I am going to find him," Ziva said, the hollow quality of her voice giving away slightly to pure anger. "I will find him and I will kill him."

"I know," Tony said, still rubbing circles on her back.

"By the time I have finished with him, he will wish I has just killed him outright."

Tony pulled her ever closer, not sure what to say.

"You think I am a monster," Ziva said, trying to pull away. Tony locked his arms and looked down at her.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No, never. You're not a monster. If I was in your position, I'd do the same thing. I think anyone would."

"So what now?" Ziva asked. Tony finally released her but kept his fingers entwined with hers.

"Now where figure out where this 'King' guy is and deal with him," Tony answered.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N This is shorter, because unfortunately, real life takes precedence. I'm trying to be timelier, I promise.**

After Tony had called Gibbs, Gibbs had demanded that they all meet in one of the hotel rooms. They trooped in, silently perching in various places. Ziva had cleaned herself up and pulled herself together after her meltdown. McGee kept sneaking sideways glances at Ziva's face. Normally she held the edge of teasing in her expressions and voice, but now she was stoically composed. McGee also noted that instead of poking at the issue, as was the DiNozzo way, Tony was only glancing at her once or twice, then determinedly looking away.

"I've talked to the Director, our Director," Gibbs started. "he FBI has a file on King and our intel and theirs says he has left Israel, probably for Europe. We're being ordered back to Washington. We leave in four hours." The team made various sounds of acknowledgement and stood, moving around to gather belongings.

"Ziva," Gibbs said. "You father called me and asked you to contact him."

"Did he," Ziva said blandly.

"He was pretty insistent," McGee added.

"He can insist all he wants, I have nothing to say to him and I do not want to hear any of his lies."

"But…"

"Drop it McGee," Ziva said, storming out of the room. Tony jogged out after her.

"Got it Boss!" Gibbs and McGee made confused faces at each other as Tony disappeared. Gibbs shrugged.

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"Do you think they'll stop coming for you now?" Tony asked Ziva as they sat in their seats on the plane. "They've made their point, and got some people caught. Do you think they'll keep sending people after you?"

"It is hard to say," Ziva said blankly. "They might decide it is a waste of resources. It is also possible that they will be angry with me for evading them and come at me even harder."

"You don't seem to worried," Tony commented.

"I am not worried," Ziva said. "If they come, I will enjoy crushing them. That is, assuming I do not find them first." Tony just looked at her, unsure of what to say.

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Gibbs had forced Ziva to take a few days off after they returned to Washington. Mossad was taking over the investigation and after a violently loud shouting match between Ziva and Director David in MTAC, Gibbs ordered Ziva to go home, heal and calm down. Ziva hadn't said a word, just brushed past them. Tony had been fielding all of Ziva's calls, because after two days of her phone ringing non-stop, he'd become fed up enough that he brought her phone from her desk and plugged it in next to his. McGee would have to stifle laughs whenever Tony ended up with a phone on each ear, desperately trying to hear both conversations.

"Very frustrated Special Agent DiNozzo, how may I help you?" Tony asked as one of the two phones on his desk rang for the 8th time in two minutes.

"Agent DiNozzo, this is Director David. Ziva's father," the voice said. Tony sat up straighter.

"Did I answer the right phone?" Tony asked, checking to see if he did actually answer his phone and not Ziva's.

"I assure you Agent DiNozzo, I did call you. Ziva is ignoring my phone calls," David said.

"Well I can't imagine why…sir," Tony said.

"I understand that you are…close to her," David said coldly. "I would like you to talk to her for me."

"What?" Tony blurted, shocked.

"I want her to see my point of view. I love my daughter and I loved her sister. It was a no-win situation and I did what I did to protect Ziva," he said.

"Well you're father of the year," Tony mumbled.

"If I wanted another fight, I would have called Ziva directly," David snapped.

"And why would Ziva listen to me even if I was willing to help you?" Tony asked.

"Like I said, you two are close," Director David said. "Think about it. You want to be on my good side. I am Ziva's father; I don't want to lose her."

"I'm sure Ziva didn't want to lose Tali, but you didn't let her choose. This time if she loses someone it's by her choice, not yours," Tony said and he hung up the phone. He dropped his head to his desk heavily with a loud thunk.

"Tony?" McGee asked. Tony threw up a finger to stop McGee from talking. "Tony!" McGee tried again. Tony rolled his head over to look at McGee, cheek still touching the desk.

"McGee, I just hung up on the Director of Mossad, give me a minute!" Tony snapped. McGee gaped.

"Well…what…what did he want?" McGee asked.

"Ziva," Tony said simply. He checked the clock and stood, grabbing his jacket. "Later Probie."

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A half an hour later, Tony found himself outside Ziva's front door. He knocked, only to stand in the cold waiting for her to answer. He flipped open his phone and hit speed dial 2.

"Hello?" Ziva's voice answered.

"Open your front door," Tony said.

"Why?"

"Because it's cold out here, that's why!" Tony answered. The door swung open a few seconds later and Tony jumped up and down, trying to coax the blood back into his feet. Ziva closed the door and walked farther into her home, sitting purposefully at the kitchen table. Tony took a seat next to her, glancing around at the papers covering the surface. She has a huge bulletin board with pictures and papers tacked neatly onto it.

"What cha doing?" Tony asked.

"I have been making calls to my contacts," Ziva said. "I am trying to find any information about this 'King'."

"So Gibbs tells you to go home and get some rest, which you interpret to mean go home and work even harder?" Tony asked.

"Something like that," Ziva answered. Tony stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, stilling her movement.

"Relax Ziva," Tony whispered in her ear. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," she mumbled back. She stood and turned herself into the circle of his arms. "I am fine." Tony rested his forehead against hers.

"Good."

"Yes," Ziva said. "Very good." She pushed herself up and crashed her lips to his. "I've missed you Tony," she murmured as she ate hungrily at his mouth.

"I've missed you too," he managed to get out. His fingers played along the edge of her sweater before swiftly pulling it over her head, leaving Ziva in a tank top and jeans. She worked at the buttons of his shirt, easily slipping it from his shoulders. Ziva shoved Tony down into a poufy chair, her knees trapped between the edges of the chair and the outside of Tony's thighs. Tony's hands were on the back of her neck and wrapped haphazardly in her hair. He pulled away briefly to catch his breath. He quirked his head to the side, seeing a red dot appear on Ziva's forehead.

Without thinking, he launched himself out of the chair, tumbling to the floor with Ziva under him. He grunted as the searing pain of a bullet assaulted him. He rolled off of Ziva, dragging her to the wall, away from the bullet-broken window. Ziva pulled a gun from God knows where while Tony retrieved his back-up from his ankle. Ziva peeked out the window, seeing a casually dressed man dashing toward a parked blue minivan.

Ziva vaulted through the broken window, followed by Tony. She sighted down her arm and fired, barely missing the running man.

"Tony, keys!" she demanded. Against his better judgment, Tony tossed her the keys to his car as they ran at full speed to his parked sedan.

"I am done!" Ziva screamed. "I am not running or hiding from these bastards anymore!"

"You're paying for any bullet hole damage to my car!" Tony answered back, buckling his seat belt and gulping.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N So it was pointed out to me that I forgot to mention where Tony was shot! My bad there. Sometimes my brain works faster than I can type. And sorry about the lateness again. It's a bad time of year.**

"Ziva!" Tony growled as they shot over the curb, sending a jolt of pain through him. She glanced over and saw the blood seeping out from under Tony's arm.

"Tony, what the hell is that?" she asked, only briefly taking her eyes off of the speeding van in front of her.

"Well I'm sorry, does this inconvenience you?" Tony snapped. He lifted his shirt up to investigate, revealing a bloody gash very high up on his side. "Just a graze," he informed her. Ziva let out a sigh of relief she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. Tony managed to dial Gibbs' number between the motion of whipping around corners.

"Gibbs!" Tony yelled as they barely missed a cat running across the road. "Ziva and I are in pursuit of a blue van, unknown number of dirt bags, heading west a few miles from Ziva's place. The plate is 555 YTO, Washington State!"

"Are they armed?" Gibbs' voice crackled over the phone.

"Oh yeah!"

"Wait for backup DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled. Tony started making hissing sounds.

"What's that? -Bzzhisssss- Boss you're breaking up –bzzzhiss-" Tony said as he hung up the phone. "They're sending backup."

"We won't need it," Ziva said darkly. Tony clung to the window.

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"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" Abby yelled, running up to his desk.

"Not now Abs, " Gibbs said, strapping on his gun.

"Gibbs this is important! I was going over the-"

"Abs, now!" Gibbs yelled.

"I figured out that the King is in America, he's in DC!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I –"

"I don't need to know how, but good job Abby!"

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"Tony, will you stop squeaking like a child?" Ziva snapped as Tony made a small 'eek' while they flew around a corner.

"Well I'm sorry Ziva, I was shot! It hurts a little," Tony snapped back. Tony's car fishtailed wildly as Ziva took another corner, following the van.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Tony muttered. The van had stopped in front of a crumbling abandoned Burger King. Two men hopped out of the van and dashed into the decrepit restaurant. Ziva jerked the car to a stop a few yards away. Tony and Ziva spilled out of the car after them, taking cover.

"Are we waiting for backup?" Tony asked. Ziva shot him a withering look and he dropped it. Smart man. Ziva and Tony ducked into the dark restaurant, momentarily frozen as their eyes adjusted to the sudden dark. As soon as they gained their night vision, huge industrial spot lights, normally used at construction sites, blared on, blinding them again. They ducked behind a stack of chairs to shield themselves.

"Ziva David!" a dark and amused voice boomed from the recesses of the building. Ziva and Tony looked at each other.

"Is that…" Tony started.

"It is," Ziva answered him.

"The King is hiding out at Burger King?"

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Gibbs and McGee were whipping down the read, easily 40 mph over the speed limit. Gibbs hadn't been able to get an answer from Ziva or Tony on their cells, so he'd called Abby to track their phones.

"All right Gibbs, they just stopped in the middle of a deserted section of town a few miles from Ziva's," Abby said. She read him the address and directions.

"King is hiding out in a Burger King!" Abby yelled. Gibbs shook his head. The irony was not lost on him. He pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal.

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Ziva hissed in anger as the King spoke again. "There are two men coming to relieve you of weapons," he said, authoritatively.

"The hell they are," Ziva muttered. The two men walked out towards them in the middle of the restaurant.

"Arrogant," Ziva said. She sighted down her arm and squeezed the trigger twice. Both men were dead before they hit the ground. "I will kill any more you send this way!"

"Come now Miss David, we are all adults here, can't you behave like one?" he chided. The amused edge was still in his voice.

"I am an NCIS agent and a Mossad operative. I haven't been a 'miss' since I was five!" Ziva yelled back. "Send me more of your 'adults' around this corner." Two more men tried, and Ziva dropped them both.

"Ziva, behind us!" Tony yelled. Ziva turned but didn't even have time to raise her gun before a fist connected with the side of her head, making her world black.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N So I really couldn't decide how I wanted this to end, that's why it took so long to get this posted. This is the final chapter, tell me what you think.**

Ziva groaned as she regained consciousness. She felt ropes tight around her wrists and found the urge to struggle, knowing it would only make things worse. She moved her jaw and it was stiff. It'd blossom into a hell of a bruise. She moved her fingers and froze when they brushed someone else's hand.

"Urgh," a voice groaned. "Ziva, it's me." Tony's voice sounded thick, as if he was trying to talk through liquid. He spat blood out of his mouth, annoyed. The King strutted, circling around Ziva until he stood in front of Tony.

"Ms. David, you shouldn't have brought him into this, all he has left to do now is die. We just need you, not him," he said, then grinned. "Though my men haven't had a woman in a long time. Maybe I'll let them in to…do as they please."

Ziva felt Tony jerk on the chair he was tied to. King backhanded him casually and laughed. "Oh, he doesn't like the sound of that, does he?"

"Did you do it?" Ziva asked.

"Do what?" King asked her.

"Set your soldiers loose on my sister before you killed her?" The King appraised Ziva before answering.

"No. I did not," he said. His answer startled her.

"Why?"

"Because this," he said, waving a hand in her direction. "This is personal. She was just business." Ziva felt Tony squeeze her hand with his and pull back before The King noticed.

Ziva took a mental inventory of her body before cursing softly. They'd found every weapon she had had stashed on her body, and the bonds on her wrists were tight and professional. Ziva sighed and leaned her head back, zoning out from what the King was saying. She was jerked back to reality at the sound of Tony's grunt as a fist connected with is face.

"I asked you a question, David," King said. He circled Tony and Ziva, pulled a frighteningly long blade when he was in front of her. "I'm going to cut him up now, maybe that will loosen your tongue." He stood in front of Tony and Ziva saw his shadow ready to slice into Tony's chest.

"No!" she yelled before she could stop herself. King smiled wickedly.

"So are you ready to speak to me, Ms. David?" he asked.

"What do you want to know?" Ziva gritted out.

"I need your assistance in procuring a few little bombs."

"I do not have access to bombs!" Ziva yelled angrily. "We are a criminal investigative unit. We. Do. Not. Deal. With. BOMBS!"

"But you could," the King said.

"No, I could not! I do not have access! It is a totally different program! You are an idiot! Did you research your marks at all? Did you look into anything NCIS actually does? You are the most pathetic terrorists I've ever come across!" Before Ziva could finish what was sure to be an epic chewing-out session, sounds of gunfire erupted from outside the restaurant. King snapped his head up to the noise. He barked out an order at the soldiers around him and they flooded towards the entrance.

The King knelt in front of Ziva and hissed in her face, "What have you done?" Ziva just glared, refusing to back down. He growled and raised the knife above his head. She raised her chin, defiantly. If she was going to die, she refused to go cowering and begging for her life.

He bared his teeth, ready to strike, when the top of his head was blown off. Ziva closed her eyes against the spray of blood and brains. She blinked them open to se Gibbs, McGee, and a number of other agents spreading out, covering them. Gibbs leaned over, untying them.

"Ziva, Tony," he said.

"Gibbs."

"Boss…"

"Next time I tell you to wait for backup, wait for the damn backup!" he yelled. They both nodded mutely. Ziva stood and walked slowly to the King's lifeless body. She knelt next to him, staring. Tony stood behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She reached back and put her hand around his, too emotionally exhausted to care if people saw.

"It is over?" she asked quietly, so only Tony could hear.

"It's over," he confirmed, squeezing her shoulder. Ziva nodded and stood. She walked out of the restaurant, never looking back.

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Two weeks later, life was more or less back to normal. Ziva had healed enough to come back to work. She was still ignoring calls from her father, finally blocking his number. When she started receiving calls from him from different numbers, Tony bought her a cell phone under the name "Lisa Darren" to avoid the calls.

Gibbs, McGee, Ducky and Abby decided to ignore the looks Ziva and Tony shared when they believe no one was watching. They spent the majority of their nights at each others' homes, preferring the company of each other over being alone.

Tony lay in his bed, blue sheets tangled around his waist. Ziva's bare back was pressed to his chest, his right arm clutched her to him with his hand around her waist. His other arm propped up his head. Tony raked his eyes down Ziva's sleeping form pressed firmly into his body. He grinned as she unconsciously moved closer to him.

This, this was exactly what he wanted, why he couldn't make it work with ant other woman; he hadn't yet found her. And once he had, no one else was good enough, they didn't even come close. They didn't posses the spark that made her Ziva.

Ziva stirred as the early morning light spilled through Tony's window and onto her face. Tony mentally cursed himself for not closing the drapes the night before. She turned in his arms, pressing her face to his chest. He ran his hand down the bare skin of her ribs and hips. Ziva turned her dark eyes up to him, a heated look filling her face.

"Is this what you want, Tony?" she asked huskily. Tony grinned in response and moved his lips against hers. They drew back, remembering the human need to breathe, laughing.

"See Ziva, I knew you loved me," Tony said playfully.

Ziva smiled her I-am-thinking-Ziva-thoughts smile. "Nuh uh, I believe I knew that YOU loved ME, remember? You did not notice for years."

Tony shrugged. "Semantics," he said, pulling her impossibly closer for a kiss. "does it really make a difference?"

"Of course not," she mumbled against his lips. "Because I knew first."

**Fin**


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